Does Anybody REALLY Know What Time It Is?
It was rush hour at the grocery store. The Express checkout line was long, but it was moving quickly. The young woman ahead of us—she appeared to be in her late teens—was impatient. She was pacing, in place, and groaning quietly. She turned around, looked at me, and said frantically, “I forgot my phone in the car. What time is it?”
She wasn’t wearing a watch. I’ve noticed that many young people no longer wear a watch. They rely on their cell phones to find out what time it is. Not a bad idea, actually.
I held out my left wrist so that she could see my watch. It’s not a fancy watch. It’s a simple, easy-to-read, everyday watch that doesn’t require batteries. It operates on light. You read that right. No batteries. Nothing complicated. Just a plain, ordinary watch. Easy to read at a quick glance.
Her eyes widened. “I can’t read that,” she said in dismay. “I have to see the numbers.”
Nope. She didn’t mean that she needed to see the Arabic numerals on the face of the watch. Yep. She had to have a digital readout to know the time.
I’m still gobsmacked. If you don’t know how to read an analog face on a clock, how did you learn fractions? How did you learn to add fractions? (“How much is a half hour plus a quarter of an hour?”) Never mind. I told her the time, without comment.
I wish we would have had time for conversation. Maybe a few questions about fractions. Then again…maybe I really don’t want to know.
Friends who work with children in school have been saying for quite some time that young children can’t read analog clocks any more. I agree with you about fractions. Also, they lose the ability to anticipate a time as the hands move toward it. A clock does more for your brain than tell it the time of day. I suppose kids won’t be able to understand a compass next….the GPS just tells you you are going N, NW, S, SE, etc. And globes…will anyone believe the earth is spherical once those disappear in favor of Google maps? Oy Vey!